TE Ch 03

“Even so, he’s not very polite, so he’s not good enough to be trained as a player or anything else.”

Koo Bbing clicked his tongue and grabbed the bottle of vodka. His pinky finger, missing a joint, couldn’t wrap around the bottle and stuck out in the air. Mookyeong suddenly straightened up and stubbed out his cigarette on the tablecloth. Sizzle. The same sound as when the padded jacket burned earlier.

“We’re going to be seeing each other from now on, so try to relax your face.”

He hadn’t even realized he was frowning, and the tip of Mookyeong’s shoe kept tapping his shin, which was quite annoying.

“…..”

Hongju could see Koo Bbing waving his hands in his vision, silently making a fuss. When he glanced over, Koo Bbing was making a loud fuss, rubbing his hands together. The way his eyes narrowed into triangles looked like he was about to hit him if he didn’t apologize right away. He told him not to let anyone smoke. He was just doing as he was told; he didn’t do anything wrong, but he didn’t understand why he had to apologize. But his position was to do as he was told. Besides, he had to make sure there were no problems in the gambling house so he could pay off his debt quickly.

“…I’m sorry about earlier.”

The man who had been staring at Hongju quietly smiled slightly.

“Madam Koo is right. You’re very stiff.”

Kneel, kneel. This time, Koo Bbing silently mouthed the words and pointed his index finger down. Irritation surged up. Hongju took a deep breath and gripped the tray tightly. Then, he took a step back and lowered his body. He knelt on the floor where the linoleum had been removed, revealing the bare concrete. The coldness made his knees ache again.

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah, why are you kneeling?”

But he didn’t stop him or tell him to get up. Hongju counted numbers in his head. I’ll just count to 10 and get up. As he stared at the rough floor, a large hand suddenly invaded his vision. A firm hand wearing a leather glove gripped Hongju’s chin tightly and forced him to raise his head. His hand was so big that it covered his chin and pressed hard on his cheekbones. Hongju looked around at Koo Bbing and the thug in embarrassment, but they just looked surprised and didn’t seem to be willing to help.

“You even knelt, so I should let it go. Let’s have a drink together and forget about it. Can you drink?”

“No, I’m not good at drinking.”

His pronunciation was slurred because his cheeks were pressed. It made his voice sound funny, but no one was laughing.

“Really?”

The force pressing on his cheek made his torn lips open helplessly. A groan escaped from the rough force that made his bruised cheekbones and temples ache. Mookyeong grabbed the bottle of vodka and pushed the opening between Hongju’s lips.

“Ugh, mmmph!”

The sharp liquid immediately entered his mouth. When Mookyeong tilted the bottle, the alcohol poured out at a rate that was hard to swallow. Hongju squeezed his eyes shut and struggled. Then, Mookyeong’s shoe stomped hard on his thigh.

“You’re drinking it well.”

A laughing voice echoed. The alcohol kept going down without giving him a chance to swallow, and what he couldn’t swallow flowed down his chin. It was enough to soak the front of his padded jacket.

“Cough, ha, cough.“

Tears welled up in his swollen eyelids when the bottle was finally removed. Hongju lay on the floor and coughed continuously. Every time he inhaled, the strong smell of alcohol seemed to spread throughout his body. After coughing until his head was ringing, Hongju grabbed his throat. The path the alcohol had taken felt like it had been burned. When he slowly raised his body, he felt Mookyeong’s gaze looking down at him. He smiled and shook one hand in the air. A few drops of vodka from the tip of his glove splashed on Hongju’s face.

“Your drinking etiquette is a bit lacking. You spilled half of the precious stuff.”

He grabbed the bottle of vodka again with his wet hand. At that moment, Hongju’s shoulders stiffened. He stared at the mouth of the vodka bottle with a wary eye. Whether it was blood that had spilled from his mouth or not, there was blood smeared on the opening of the bottle. The man tapped Hongju’s frozen cheek and brought the bottle of vodka to his own mouth. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he tilted his head slightly and swallowed the vodka.

“…..”

Hongju swallowed a hot breath. It was nauseating as if the smell of alcohol was stuck in his breath and heartbeat. His chest pounded so rapidly that even his normal right ear felt muffled. Hongju was panting alone in the silence that seemed to separate him from his surroundings. After taking a few more sips of the alcohol, the man roughly put down the bottle. Even then, their gazes did not break and remained entangled.

“Madam Koo, did you put water in this?”

“N-No! There’s no water…”

He didn’t give a glance to Koo Bbing, who was making excuses. Instead, he didn’t take his eyes off Hongju, as if he was examining him. The voices gradually faded as if he had fallen into the water. Hongju wiped his mouth with a trembling hand. When he saw the blood mixed with alcohol drawn on the back of his hand, he frowned slightly, and a small laugh came from above. Hongju quickly raised his head. The man licked his wet lips and smiled.

“Mookyeong.”

“…..”

What is he suddenly talking about? Hongju narrowed his eyes and stared at his lips.

“Ah, this is Hongju.”

Instead of Hongju, Koo Bbing, who introduced him, started talking again. In the meantime, the man’s gaze swept from Hongju’s kneeling knees to his thighs, his torn padded jacket, and his wet nape.

“…..”

At first, Hongju had thought of him as just a rich sucker or a fraudster. But now, he started to think that maybe he was an even stranger and more vicious person than that. Mookyeong instructed the thug to take Hongju out. Koo Bbing nodded in agreement. Just how much money did he borrow to grovel like that? Hongju had lived without much interest in the gambling house, but now, he was starting to get curious.

“Hey, hey, are you okay? You’re all busted up again.”

The thug, who had taken Hongju to a small room next to the bathroom, made a fuss and went to find some tissues. The sharp scent that he felt every time he breathed made him feel dizzy. If I get drunk, I won’t be able to work properly. Then Manager Yang will go crazy, and he’ll cut my salary again this month. Then I’ll be one day further away from paying off my debt. I can’t let that happen.

Hongju shook his spinning head and tried to get a grip. Perhaps because he was getting drunk, he didn’t even notice the sound of someone approaching. Only when he saw the shoes that stopped in front of his old shoes did he realize that someone was in front of him. Hongju slowly raised his head. Slap! His vision flashed, and his cheek felt hot as if it had been burned. A fishy taste began to spread in his mouth, but it couldn’t beat the strong smell of alcohol.

“What the hell did you say to make Boss Mookyeong act like that?”

He was yelling something, but the sound wasn’t clear. Hongju tapped his right ear with his palm. Only then did the surrounding noise begin to sound louder.

“Damn it, didn’t Manager Yang tell you? Not to go to that room?”

“…Yes. He didn’t. If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone.”

He answered with a slightly dull pronunciation. At that moment, Manager Yang approached the two of them at the right time.

“Why? What’s wrong, why are you hitting the kid again?”

“You fucker, why didn’t you tell Hongju not to go near that room? The mood almost got ruined because of him. I almost died trying to please that young one, ptooey!”

Koo Bbing, who spat on the floor, was furious. Hongju, holding his cheek, looked up at Manager Yang. When they first met, he was a man without a single wrinkle. Time had passed, and he had aged a lot. But even though his face had changed, his slippery personality hadn’t changed at all.

“Why would I not tell you something that important? I told you firmly! Hey, did I tell you or not? Why did you go in there, damn it!”

Manager Yang rather got angry and shifted the blame to Hongju. Hongju didn’t say anything more. He just took the beatings and the curses as they came.

“Forget it. That’s enough. If this fucker dies, who will do the work and who will get the money? Stop it, stop it.”

It was Manager Yang who stopped Koo Bbing, who was stomping on Hongju like a madman. Who was it that made him take such a beating, and now he pretends to care? Hongju slowly sat up and spat on the floor. Blood stretched out as it dripped. Every time he breathed, his chest felt stiff, but he didn’t know if it was because he was beaten or because he was frustrated. Manager Yang dragged Koo Bbing, who was still huffing and puffing, out.

“…..”

The thug, who had just entered, bowed when he saw the two of them. He had said he was going to get some tissues, but only now had he returned. How long had he been standing there? Why didn’t he stop them sooner? Hongju frowned and placed his hand on the chair.

“Oh, oh. Let me help you, man!”

The thug hurried over and supported Hongju, who was trying to stand. Every time he moved, it felt like his bones were creaking.

“Just give me the tissues.”

The end of his words, mixed with drunkenness, dragged on. Hongju, who wiped his mouth with the tissues the thug handed him, breathed slowly. He shook his head a few times, trying to regain his fading consciousness. After doing that for a while, a voice came from outside.

“Hongju! Come and serve!”

“…..”

When he couldn’t make a sound with just his lips moving, the thug spoke for him.

“Coming!”

Hongju barely managed to get up. Because he knew that the only way to escape from this fucked up and dirty gambling house was to work like a dog and pay off all his debts.

 

***

 

There was an old metal desk at the entrance of the gambling house. It was mostly Manager Yang who kept that seat. He sat in a position that was easily visible to people and waved banknotes to tempt them. You can win up to hundreds of millions with a few tens of thousands in bets, but you can also end up with that much debt in gambling. Just one big win. Those who put their hope in that slim chance saw the money that Manager Yang lent as a lifeline. That was why they borrowed money even after paying a prepayment interest of 20%.

The temporary gambling house was noisy again today. From the stairs, noisy shouts could be heard. When Hongju stepped on the last step, the familiar desk immediately came into view. But the figure sitting in the chair was unfamiliar. He narrowed his eyes and checked again because his attire did not fit in here.

“I guess you really do have a good tolerance for pain?”

“…..”

It was that man from yesterday. Mookyeong or Boss Mookyeong, or whatever. Hongju, who had paused for a moment, continued to move. He rolled his still-drunk head and recalled Koo Bbing’s warning.

‘He’s our lifeline, okay? Our lifeline. Behave yourself.’

Hongju’s eyes examined him. Today, as yesterday, he was dressed in expensive clothes. If you go around looking like that here, you’re just admitting that you’re a sucker. He swallowed such meddling thoughts and bowed slightly.

“…Hello.”

“You’ve become polite again after having a drink together yesterday.”

He didn’t respond to the sarcastic voice and looked around. Manager Yang, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.

“Manager Yang went inside because a customer he knows came. Sit down.”

He pulled an empty metal chair and made a seat for Hongju. Anyway, since he had to play the role of Uncle for the time being, this was the only place for him to be. Hongju slowly sat down on the chair. Every now and then, he had to hold his breath several times because of the pain that felt like it was stabbing his side.

“Your face has become more colorful. Did Madam Koo hit you?”

“…..”

You know everything, so why are you asking. Hongju slightly turned his head and avoided answering. Then, a large hand was placed on his shoulder.

“Not answering when an adult asks you a question?”